As such, they contend, the company the state created in 1981 to operate the terminals isn't subject to open records laws for government entities.

But last week when comparing the salary of Virginia Port Authority executive director J. Robert Bray with salaries of other port directors, board members used the Virginia International Terminals budget for comparison -- rather than the smaller Virginia Port Authority budget.

Bray, though one of seven members of VIT's board of directors, often takes a hands-off view of his role in overseeing VIT's budget. He has said he doesn't know the salaries of VIT's top executives, having never attended a board meeting where that came up.

John Milliken, the chairman of the Virginia Port Authority's board and one of three members on the board's compensation subcommittee, asserts that although Bray doesn't solely or directly oversee VIT's budget, its revenue was still a valid figure to use.

"That's a measure of the overall business activity at the port," Milliken said, referring to the state-owned terminals. "For a given year, that's a measure of what's going on -- and it's a measure of how big it is for the strategic planning, for the marketing, for the competitive positioning."

Milliken stressed that the revenue figure was only one of several factors used in the comparisons. An individual job performance review also was conducted.

During the first-ever public meeting last week, the compensation committee voted to recommend that Bray get a compensation package worth up to $287,193 in the year that begins in July -- 4 percent more than his salary this year and 115 percent more than the state budget calls for. The full board will vote on the matter this week.

At the compensation committee meeting, Milliken and board member E. Massie Valentine Jr. used the figure of $141 million generated by Virginia International Terminals in 2003 as the port authority's revenue.

That compared, for example, to $111 million in operating revenue at the South Carolina State Ports Authority in 2003, and $121 million at the Georgia Ports Authority during that same year, as well as similar comparisons to other ports.

In South Carolina and Georgia ports and the other ports, however, the top port officials directly oversee the listed revenue.

In Virginia, however, a separate group of executives -- those who head VIT -- play the more primary role in overseeing VIT's budget. The annual operating revenue that Bray oversees is $72 million this year. Of that, $36.9 million comes from VIT's net revenue and $33.2 million comes from the VPA's portion of the commonwealth transportation trust fund, which comes from retail, car and fuel taxes.

Richard Groseclose, the port of South Carolina's director, makes a compensation package of $290,000 a year, the highest of the top 10 container ports surveyed by the Daily Press.

He oversees 567 workers. That includes 381 terminal workers -- including those handling equipment. It also includes 75 port police officers, plus 111 other workers in marketing, finance, technology and development.

Joseph A. Dorto, VIT's general manager, oversees about 430 terminal workers and administrators, plus an additional 400 to 800 day laborers on any given day. Dorto's compensation, however, is still a closely guarded secret.

The port authority, saying VIT is private, turned down requests for the compensation of Dorto, assistant general manager Richard N. Knapp, and three other top officials. Board members of VIT also argue the company is private. Like Bray, the Virginia Port Authority's board -- which appoints the VIT board and approves its budget -- also say they don't know VIT salaries.

A report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, commissioned by the VPA in February for $1,900, said Bray's salary was in line or less than others in similar positions in public and private industry.

Mercer did not include bonus pay, saying, "No data is available for incentive compensation for port authorities."

But the Daily Press found out the bonuses paid for nine of the top 10 container ports by calling the ports and asking for the information. Bray's bonus -- up to $71,217 for the coming fiscal year -- is what lifts his compensation package above those of directors of many other big ports. His package is second only to Groseclose among top 10 container ports, ranking better than the directors of the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York, the country's three busiest container ports. *